There are some folks who haven’t met a chile they haven’t liked. For the rest of us, this vegetable soup is an easy one to kick up or dial back to your personal heat preference.

When I want to add a little spice, I like to go for layers of heat, to bring flavor as well as fire to the mix.

• Fresh minced chiles: I used poblano peppers because I like their flavor. If you want to amp things up, use jalapenos or another hot chile.

• Tomatoes: Substitute a can of tomatoes with chiles for some of the crushed tomatoes to add a different kind of kick. Or swap out the spicy version for the 5 oz. of regular V-8 in this recipe.

• Spice: I like a Cajun spice blend that includes paprika, cayenne and other herbs and spices, to add a little complexity. Adding additional cayenne when the garlic goes into the pot can bring a little more pep to the party.

• Hot sauce: There are hundreds out there now, each with scarier labeling and Scoville numbers than the last. The nice thing about hot sauce is that you can serve it at the table, so even those who don’t think heat is sweet can enjoy.